🎯 Tech unicorns are facing tough times with inflation and economic uncertainty. Investors are getting cautious, making it harder for these companies to keep growing without turning a profit.

🛑 In mid-2022, a Swedish fintech giant in the buy-now-pay-later space, laid off about 10% of its global workforce. Fast forward to the AI boom, and now its AI assistant is doing the work of 700 full-time employees!

How It Works:

🤝 The company  teamed up with OpenAI to supercharge customer service. In just one month, their ChatGPT-powered bot is handling two-thirds of customer service chats—2.3 million conversations across 23 markets and 35 languages.

💰 The result? The company expects to boost profits by $40 million in 2024. The bot has cut down errors, reduced repeat inquiries by 25%, and slashed average conversation times from 11 to just 2 minutes.

"This AI breakthrough means better experiences for our customers, more interesting challenges for our employees, and higher returns for our investors," - Sebastian Siemiatkowski, cofounder and CEO."

AI vs. People:

📉 AI has drastically changed the company's hiring strategy. By the end of 2023, their headcount was down by 25%.

💬 “AI lets us grow faster without needing to hire as many people,” a spokesperson said. Last year, they even froze hiring for all roles except engineering. Siemiatkowski added, “We need fewer people to do the same thing. The right move is to pause hiring and see how this plays out.”

The Human Touch:

🤖 While AI handles most customer inquiries, human agents are still needed for reviewing logs, ensuring bot accuracy, and managing complex or sensitive cases. Workers may shift into specialized roles that complement the AI.

What do you think?  Is this good for businesses or does it set a bad precedent?

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2024/03/04/klarnas-ai-assistant-is-doing-the-job-of-700-workers-company-says/